Author: ADLINK Blog

ADLINK recently announced the release of Vortex DDS v2.5 which includes many significant new features (download an evaluation of the software here). One of the key features in this new release of our market leading (commercial and open source) Data-Distribution implementation is a Native Python API. This blog will take you through an explanation of what Python is, its benefits and why a Python DDS Binding really is a big deal.

What is Python?

Python Software Foundation’s Python™ is an interpreted high-level programming language for general purpose programming. Created by Guido van Rossum and first released in 1991, Python has a design philosophy that emphasizes code readability and a syntax that allows programmers to express concepts in fewer lines of code, notably using significant whitespace. It provides constructs that enable clear programming on both small and large scales.

Python is consistently near the top of any list of most popular programming languages and in 2018 is expected to be the second most in demand by employers after Java. The popularity of Python looks set to continue well in to the future as the ability for rapid prototyping is ideal for machine learning which is an area of intense development.

The Significance of Python DDS Binding

Vortex OpenSplice provides fast, secure and interoperable data communications infrastructure. This can be used to distribute data between applications written in Python and those written in other languages such as C, C++, C# and Java, offering seamless integration.

Vortex OpenSplice enables you to reliably scale systems to hundreds or even thousands of applications, distributed across local and wide-area networks. This is especially useful when considering the scalability, rapid prototyping and machine learning that are the key benefits of using Python as a programming language.

What Benefits Will Python bring?

Seamless Integration between Python applications and other applications implemented in C, C++, C# and Java

Scalable peer-to-peer data communication

Dynamic peer discovery

Robust security with authentication, encryption, and per-topic access control

Ability to fine-tune application behavior, without coding through Quality of Service parameters

Available on the plethora of platforms that Vortex OpenSplice supports already given these offer support for the Python package itself as well.

Vortex DDS already the leading (commercial and open source) implementation of the Data-Distribution Service standard continues to improve it’s offering to the market, highlighted by the above benefits of the new Python feature.

I’m really proud of the work my CTO, Joe Speed, carried out at CES this year with CTA, IBM, and Local Motors on #AccessibleOlli. Front and center in the main hall of the exhibition, #AccessibleOlli showcases what happens when major industry players come together to solve real world problems. In this case, it’s about helping people with disabilities get around. You can get a real time feed on #AccessibleOlli by following #JoeSpeed on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JoeSpeeds

I think there’s some great lessons to take away from the #AccessibleOlli program.

Put the focus on the mission, not the technology. If you factor in all the cloud vendors, enterprise software companies, the computer hardware providers, below the radar startup vendors, AI platforms, sensor companies…. Let alone emerging technology coming out of academia – there’s a lot of technology out there. The only way to make sense of the plethora of technologies is to IGNORE THEM at the beginning of your initiative and focus on the outcome of your program. #AccessibleOlli started with a question: how can we make it easier for people with disabilities to get around? Technology provided perspectives on how to answer the question… but was NEVER the driving force for the initiative.

IoT is a Team Sport. I’ve been in countless meetings with technology professionals who are bound and determined that THEY will build the real platform for IoT – and that no one else will be able to compete. Sorry, I don’t buy it. #AccessibleOlli has been successful because it’s a collaboration of many players, each with different skills. If you are being told – by either internal or external coaches – that one solution or one tech team has the IoT panacea – run, don’t walk, to the nearest exit.

Continually question your solution. It’s so very easy to fall into the trap of declaring victory and stopping innovation. In a landscape shifting so fast, you have to look for new approaches continually. #AccesibleOlli has shifted over time from reliance on specific sensors to broader sensor fusion approaches, including LIDAR and 3d imagery.

Arm your experts and get out of the way. IoT is so trendy right now, everyone wants a bit of it. With almost CIO on the planet right now measured on having an IoT program running by end of 2018, it would be easy to spin up a large cross functional “management task force” and noodle and micro-manage what needs to be done and the choices to make. #AccessibleOlli on the other hand has always been a bottom up program. Experts from a lot of fields came together and have created something amazing. This is not to say that it’s just about engineers – you need people who understand your customer and your mission intimately and those may be in your marketing or even you customer service department. But you don’t need seventeen vice presidents.

Place Lots of Bets, not One Big One. Unlike other technology and industry shifts in the past – like big data or ERP – no one knows what the shape will be in the end. There is no perfect formula yet. Rather, the most successful are trying many ideas out simultaneously – it’s a time of experiments. #AccessibleOlli has evolved that way. What started as a test of digital printed car parts moved to an exploration of autonomous vehicle algorithms, to now a platform which communicates with the deaf and blind. Each stepwise move was a low cost test, touching a different angle of the mission. It has involved different contributors at every stage.

At ADLINK, we are committed to the mission of creating an easy on-ramp for our customers to use IoT as a tool to try new things in their businesses. #AccessibleOlli is a great example of the kinds of projects on which we love to work.

For more information on how ADLINK can help implement your own IoT digital experiment, contact us.

Learn how to run examples of Vortex Edge Connect and understand the mechanisms that allow an MQTT broker to send values to an open-source ModBus slave simulator.
Vortex Edge Connect is ADLINK’s latest data connectivity technology that enable OT and IT convergence in Industrial IoT systems.

Maintaining climate condition in any certain type of environment requires management. While many organizations invest heavily on powerful machines and sensors, and facilities to enable climate control; ensuring device coordination, communication and stability can be an added challenge.

Vortex DDS’ robust end-to-end qualities-of-service capability massively help systems to manage and control devices efficiently and in real-time. This simplifies the process of reconfiguring greenhouse controllers so that all sensors are correctly matched with internal data channels.

Why you should choose Vortex

Simplify the complicated. Building your system can be a complicated process. Vortex’s automatic discovery feature helps cut the complexity of system deployment.

Integrate existing system effortlessly. Vortex consists of interoperable technologies that allow the integration and extension of existing system with minimal effort.

Reduce operational cost. Inefficient systems can slow your operation and downtime can cost you even more. Vortex ensures your system is efficient and fault-tolerant, cutting the costs of manual workforce, maintaining its reliability and reducing the chances of costly downtimes.

Accelerate time to market. Vortex is easy to deploy, allowing systems to be built quickly and efficiently. Boosting product development helps reduce time to market, enabling you to stay ahead of the game.

Improve product quality and output rates. One of the major benefits of automation is increase productivity with minimal or no human intervention. Vortex satisfies this requirement by enabling machine intelligence through intelligent data connectivity solution.

Save valuable time. Vortex enables system autonomy, providing you the freedom to focus your time on delivering further innovation for your business.

The operational complexity of factories means that factors such as maintaining human safety and productivity while keeping high standards for efficiency and quality greatly affects a business‘ overall output and operational cost.

As the future of robotics technology advances, so does its use on factory floors. Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) are changing the way factories operate, enabling better product quality and throughput rates. Addressing the issues on human safety, AGVs also reduces the risk of workplace injuries or exposure to potential hazards.

With Vortex DDS providing communication within the vehicle’s system (intravehicle), between vehicles (intervehicle); and between vehicles and the management sytem – only relevant data is delivered in real-time, right where it is needed.

Data Centricity – the volume of data generated from many vehicles and its sensors can be processed based on its data type. The publish and subscribe communication where only the required data is being sent to the relevant subscriber ensures its delivery is in real-time.

Efficiency – Ensuring availability and integrity of data in the event of hardware or software failure, Vortex DDS can process and deliver information at the right place in real-time even in the event of a machine failure.

Last week saw PrismTech showcase our Data Distribution Service (DDS) demo (see YouTube video above) whilst exhibiting amongst the giants of the world’s defense and aerospace market at DSEI 2017- many of whom are current PrismTech customers. Renowned as the world’s leading event bringing together the global defense and security sector DSEI did not disappoint, with the Excel Exhibition Centre hosting over 1,600 exhibitors and 34,000 visitors across the four days featuring a wide array of Defense and Aerospace applications.

PrismTech’s DDS demo stimulated great interest around the PrismTech booth, leading to many exciting discussions on how DDS could be applied to their own defense use cases. The demo highlighted the process of moving real-time data around network systems using Vortex DDS with land and sea examples.

Another highlight at DSEI was the announcement of Thales Australia selecting Vortex DDS as the data sharing platform for its Integral Computing System (ICS) which has been featured in major defense publications such as; Jane’s 360 and Defence Connect.

A Defense and Aerospace event of this scale is particularly relevant to PrismTech due the wide adoption of DDS in this industry- for example it is mandated in Vetronics systems with standards such as the Generic Vehicle Architecture (GVA).

To find out more about how Vortex DDS benefits the defense and aerospace industry, click here

If you are attending the VMworld show in Las Vegas, Nevada next week, don’t forget to visit the IoT Pavillion section and get your hands on the Vortex Edge PMQ conveyor belt demo.

The Vortex Edge PMQ demo is a conveyor belt system deployed with various sensors and is connected to a Vortex Edge Smart Gateway which collects and analyzes data locally using IBM’s advanced PMQ predictive analytics software. Key data is shared with IT systems in the cloud for business intelligence results sharing. One such IT system is VMware’s Pulse IoT Center which is deployed locally on an Vortex Edge Industrial Server. Pulse IoT Center provides device management services allowing the gateway to be monitored and updated with new software or analytical models.

This collaboration was made possible with VMware, ADLINK and IBM to jointly test and integrate their respective IoT solutions to offer customers a comprehensive, supported IoT offering featuring the requisite hardware, software and services to tackle their IoT initiatives.

“VMware and ADLINK have a common goal of speeding up IoT adoption for organizations by enabling their solutions to reduce the time and effort required to setup an end-to-end IoT solution and improve the experience. VMware and ADLINK together will provide a comprehensive edge infrastructure solution to power IoT analytics platforms that deliver new business insights for mutual customers.” — Mimi Spier, vice president, Internet of Things, VMware

ADLINK is ‘Leading EDGE COMPUTING’ by delivering the network nodes that enable practical and scalable IoT systems. Building on its strong heritage in embedded computing, ADLINK provides the hardware and advanced Edge-aware software capabilities necessary for the multi-vendor, multi-standard connectivity required in end-to-end IT/OT business solutions. With its strategic partners VMware, OSIsoft and IBM, ADLINK reduces the complexity and helps speed the deployment of enterprise IoT systems that liberate data from vendor silos and other islands-of-automation, thus enabling business improvement in terms of operational excellence, enhanced customer service and support for new business models.

“The world of IoT is exciting and daunting at the same time. OT and IT organizations approach very aligned goals from different points of view, and a common denominator is hard to find. ADLINK and VMware’s collaboration shows what happens when we bridge the divide. Creating new disruptive industry solutions takes a lot more than any one vendor can provide – and our ecosystem approach is second to none in the industry in terms of practical experience.” — Rob Risany, executive vice president — IoT Strategy, Solutions & Technology, ADLINK

VMworld 2017 will be held at Mandalay Bay Hotel & Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada USA on August 27th – 31st 2017, and at Fira Gran Via, Barcelona, Spain on September 11th -14th 2017.